Food mixer



G. H. KOCH July 8, 1958 FOOD MIXER Filed March 21, 1956 INVENTOR.

GUSTAV H. KOCH ATTORNEY house Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporationof Pennsylvania Application March '21, 1956, 'se;i iisiq..s1s,'01e. j: j

3 Claims. o1. (259 -1 This. invention relates to: a food mixer of household type and has for an object to provide improvedapparatus of this kind.

- Afnrther object of the invention is to provide improved:

applied, and the shaft moves to its coupled position with the key 23 above the ring 25, as shown in Fig. 2. Pref' erably, a compression spring 26 is suitably secured in apparatus for readily detachingfthe beaters from the mixer structure, which apparatus is pleasing in appearance and easily cleaned.

,A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved beater ejector for a mixer wherein-the portions of; the ejector which aresusceptibleiof having food splashed or ,otherwise deposited thereon arezof plainformation, accessible and readily cleaned.

In. practicing the invention, a recess is formed in the bottom of the casing of a mixer; in which-recess'the' lower ends of the rotaryispindles carrying' the heaters are disposed. An ejector plate closely fits within'the walls forming the recess and has spaced openings receiving the' lower ends 'of the spindles. The ejectorplate is-biased againstuendwallsof the recess, defining seats"for the plate, by a spring carried by the casing within the recess and engaging a stem fixed .to the cei1terof the plate Theplate is disposed above and adjacent shoulderscarried by the shafts ofthe beaters during operation. The ends of the ejector plate form handles by'which the plate may betilted about one or the other of theseatsfor engaging the shoulder of a beater and ejecting the beater I from it's spindle. The plate may be manually displaced from the recess and turned about the'a'xisyof its jstem in order to gain .access to the recess walls and the rotary spindles for cleaning. The'plate is simple in formation,

, pleasing in appearancef'and' may be readily' cleaned. l

These and other objects are effected by the invention as will be apparent from the. followinig'fdescripti'onl and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, 'in whichz Fig. 1 is a side view, partially insection', of'a' mixer having beater ejecting means constructed in accordance I with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the'lin'e I I ""II of Figi'l; Fig. 3 is a section viewed from 'the plane of Fig.1; H a Fig.4 is an enlarged view-similar to Fig.' 2bu',t show- Uni e St aw Pa efi q" supported Within the casing 10, the principal, support thereforbeing provided by sleeve bearings 21 carried by.

transversely spaced portions of the casing. 10. a

The shafts 15 and 16 of the beaters l'larecoupled to;

the' spindles 13 and 14 in any suitable manner. 'As

shown,-the-shafts 15 and 16 extend into axial bores 22- formed in the spindles 13 and 14 and are provided with a. pair of curved outwardly extending .keys 23' embossed or otherwise formed on a diameter of' the shaftsi These keys 23 are received by opposite-radial slots 24 formed in the'lower' portions 'ofthe spindles 13 and 14. The

shafts 15 and 16 are retained in "position within the spindles 13 and 14 by'spring 0 rings 25 seated within suitable annular grooves formed in the spindles 13 and 14"adjacent the lower ends thereof.

23 engages the lower side of the ring 25. A little axial force, sufficient to open the spring ring25 is then each bore 22 for imparting a downward force to .the shafts 15 and 16, which force, however, is not sufficient, to

open the Q ring 25 and eject the shaft. Thesprings 26,- during a mixing operation, permit the beaters 17 to.

move axially within the spindles in order to maintain uniform "contact ofthelbeat'ers with the bottom of the; bowl containing the material being mixed. Accordingly;--

- the springs '26 compensate for variations in the bottom surface of the bowl 'as well as variations in the position-- ingfof the mixer upon its support. This functioningofj the springs is refcrred to as fknee action. and is ;Well understood in this art. As: shown in Fig. 3, Ethe spindles 13 and 14 may be assembled so. that theirslots 24 are displaced by 45degrees whereby the heaters 17 mayoperate in paths which overlap, all of which is well understood. This displacement of 'the' spindles 13 and 14 'thesake of clearis not carried out in Figs. 2 and 4'for ness of illustration.

Inaccordancewith the present inventionfimproved' means is providedfor-ejecting the beater shaftsfrom the spindles, which "means is of simple construction and pleasing appearance, important factors in household a'p pliances, as is wellv appreciated. The ejeeting mea'ns includes an ejector :plate 28, preferably seated within a recess 29 formed in an under portion'of' the'oasing 10." As best shown in Fig. 1, the sides of the plate' 28 snugly fit within sloped sidewalls 31 of the recess 29' and; as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, end portions ofthe' plate rest upon seats 32 and 33 formed on the casing at the endsof the recess 29. The plate 28' is provided, oentr ally, with a stem 34v extending upwardly within a 1cavity: 30 within:- the casing 10 a'ndId'efining,.in ehectyan upward extension .of the recess 29. The stem 34 is carried by the-plate 28 ing the beater ejecting 'platemoved to a position fo r ejecting one of the heaters; and

Fig. 5 is a reduced scale perspective of the mixer. r; Referring now to the drawing, a household food mixer is disclosed having a casing ltl and a handlell; As is understood, the mixer may. be carried by the handle 11 during a mixing 'operationor may be supported upon a suitable stand (not shown). The'casing 10 housesa driving shaft-IZ-for a pair of hollow spindles '13 and in any suitable manner and has a collar35 adjacent its upper end; The collar 35 is preferably a split'spring ring l fitted within a groove in 'the'stem 34 in a well 'under-' 3 stood manner. A compression spring 36 biases the stem 7 34 upwardly, forcing the plate 28 into engagement with the seats32 and 33. The spring 36 is interposed between the collar 35 and a ledge 37. formed within the casing"1 0.- 1 The ejector plate 28 is provided withholes 38 and 39 throughwhichthe shafts 15jand 16 extendfl 'lref- -.erabl'y, thespindles 13 and 14 extend downwardly through the holes 38 and 39 and terminate adjacent the lower surface of the plate 28. The outer ends of the plate 28 extend beyond the sides of the casing 10 and define handles 41 and 42 by which the plate 28 may be moved downwardly by the thumb or finger for the ejection of one or both beaters from their spindles. As shown, each shaft .fst m d..mn:s. 1.958

is and! 16 isprovided withafiared shoulder '43 disposed adjacent the-botomof the plate 28in the operating-posi tion of the apparatus. The shoulders 43 are engaged by the plate 28 during the ejection of the heaters from the spindles; a swill'be described,' andialso serve, during op-f oration-of the mixer, as a slinger preventing materialwhich may move,up-the beatershafts fror'nentering'th'e holes38 and 39. 1

Thexcoupling of the beater shafts'to their respective spindleshas been described heretofore. The uncoupling of. the shafts and spindles will now be'described. The

operatingposition of thebeater shafts is shown in Fig. 2.-

The beater shafts may be selectively ejected from the spindles by depressing one orthe other of the handles 41 and. Complete depression of either. handle will eject both heater shafts. When the handle 41 is depressed by.

ofFig. 4, the plate 28 engages shoulder 43 of shaft 16 and disengages this shaft in the same manner as described for shaft 15. Accordingly, one heater shaft may be ejected by partially depressing the plate 28, or both may be ejected by completely depressing the plate 28. Similarly, the shaft 16 may be first ejected from the spindle 14 by partially depressing handle 42 for tilting the plate 28 downwardly about the seat 32. Complete depression of handle 42 will eject both shafts 15 and 16. The selective 'ejectionof' the heaters from the'mixer, as described, is easily carriedout'even by one having very weak hands.

Cleaning of the ejector plate 28 and the surfaces of recess 29 may be readily carried'out by moving the plate 28 from the confines of'the recess 29- and then moving the plate 28 angularly about the axis of stem 34 about 90 degress. This operation provides access .to the top of the plate 28 and the walls of the recess 29 for wiping. Sincethe spring 36 is disposcd in the cavity 30 which is closed by the .plate 28 during operation, fouling of the spring .36 by the material being mixed is precluded.

From the foregoing description, it is believed apparent that an improved ejector for the heaters of a household mixer is provided,,wherein ejection of thebeaters maybe selectively carried out or the ejection of both heaters may beeffccted. The cleaning of the ejector mechanism is readily effected and the construction is such that the rotary spindles of the mixer andthe spring associated with the ejector mechanism are protected by the ejector plate from materialubeing agitated by the heaters. Furthermore, the improved ejectorplate is ofs'imple construction and may bereadily blended with the casing to provide a pleasingrappearance.

While the invention hasbeen shown in but one form,

it will be obviousto those skilled in theart that it is 'not Y so 1imited,but.is susceptible of various changes and modifications .without departing from the spirit thereof.

What is claimed is: 1

1'. In aimixenthe combination of a casing having a recess formed in the outer portion thereof, a pair of hollow spindles journalled in the casing and extending into spaced portions of the recess, means for rotating said spindles, a pair of heaters having respective shafts, said spindles having respective bores for receiving the shafts of the heaters, means coupling the beater shafts to the spindles for rotation therewith, spring biased means for retainingthe shafts within the spindles in coupled relation,;an ejector plate having a center 'stemextending within said recess and openings spaced outwardly from thestem-receiving'the-shaftsofsaid heaters; a pair of seats formed on said casing and engageable with portions of the plate spaced outwardly from said openings therein, a spring carried by the casing within said recess for biasing the plate against said seats, said plate having terminal portions outwardly of saidseatsand defining handles by which the plate may be'manually tilted about one or the other of said seats, and respective shoulders formed on said shafts and disposedadjacentsaid plate during opera g tionof the mixer, said shoulders being selectivelyengaged by the plate when the latter is tilted about one or the .other of said seats. for theejection of a heater from its respective-spindle'and ino'pposition to the spring biased retaining means associatedwith ,the'spindle.

2. In a mixer, the combination of a casing having a recess formed in an under surface thereof, a pair of spaced spindles journalled in the casing and extending into said'reccss, motor-driven means for'rotating the spindles, a' pairof heaters having-respective driving shafts,

said spindles having axial bores for receiving the respective' shafts, detachable means for coupling the shafts and spindles, resilientmeans retaining the shafts in'theircou pled position, an ejector plate seated within said recessand having a central stem extending within the recess-a spring carried by the casing -and engaging said stem for biasing-the ejector plate-to its seated position, said ejector 3 plate having openings on opposite sides of the stem for "receiving. thevlower. ends of said spindles, said ejector plate having endportions defining handles for manually tilting-.theplate about one orthe other ends of the recess in oppositionto said plate biasing spring, and respective shoulders :formed on the beater shafts and disposed adjacent to the;ejector plate during operation of the mixer,

said shoulders being selectively engaged by. the plate when the latteris tilted-about one or the other ends of the recess for the ejection of a heater from'its respective spindle.

- and in opposition to said .res ilientmeans, said ejector plate'being movable outwardlyfrom the recess in opposition to .said plate biasing spring and rotated about the.

spring for gaining accessto the recess for cleaning.

3. In a mixer, the combination of a casing having a recess formed in the outer portion thereof, a pair of hollow spindles journalled in the casing and extending into spaced-portions of the recess, means for rotating said spindles, a pair of heaters having respective shafts, said spindles having respective bores for receiving the shafts of the heaters, means coupling the beater shafts to the spindlesfor rotation therewith, spring biased means for 1 retaining the shafts within the spindles in coupled relation, an ejector plate substantially covering the recess and having spaced openings receivingsaid shafts, respectively,

said casing having a seat formed thereon at one end of said recess and engag'able with one end of said plate spaced outwardly from one of said openings therein, biasing means within said recess'for urging said plate into contact with said seat, said plate having a terminal portion defining ahandlefor tilting the plate about said seat,

and respective shoulders formed on said shafts and dis- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,048,455 Y Knapp July 21, 1936 2,101,980 Brunner Dec. 14, 1937 

